It is a wonderful feeling that I slightly doubt I will ever experience again unless I become a teacher in Hong Kong or China, of getting through one week of school in the knowledge that I only have two weeks or so before we are given another holiday for Chinese New Year. I certainly cannot complain about this and have been feverently trying to make plans, despite many things standing in my way, to go abroad. I have not got anything down in concrete yet but I loom forward to seeing what this nearly two week break will bring.
As this week has been peacefully gentle, I can muse for you on another part of Hong Kong life that I am sure I will miss when I come home. This week especially, I have been enjoying the contrast of views that Hong Kong offers on my LRT and bus trips around this city. There are quite a few pictures of Hong Kong to illustrate this below but perhaps one of the most unique things about Hong Kong is the way that it has been built. Especially in the New Territories where I live, you are greeted with stacks of tower blocks, lined up like dominoes waiting to be pushed over, with the backdrop of looming mountains.
The busy motorway that takes my bus to church from Tuen Mun all the way to the connection to the island, is set into the mountain side with the steep but fairly picturesque face to one side and steep drops or more communities of domino tower blocks on the other. It is truly a city where nature meets man made creations in perfect harmony. Perhaps some of the most stunning views are those from this motorway, across the water to the island, connected by a large bridge and the mountains that make the island visible are completed Hong Kong style by the tower blocks. As it is only seen from afar, it looks like a silhouetted picture that still makes me smile with joy every time I see it.
I have been fortunate enough to see these stunning views twice this week. After a curious first week back with teaching both K2 and K3 about food ans eating utensils, I was glad to have Friday with only one lesson. Little did I expect to have an interesting and informative time putting the K3 artwork folders together. It was a learning curve as we used a curious machine that looked suspiciously like a type writer to punch holes in the side of the papers and then insert into these binder things, I'm not sure what the technical term is, which was an arduous process but it was a good time to chat with Katie and Will who were also doing this with me.
I had quite forgotten, having managed to have a fairly quiet PE lesson with my K2 class last week, how energetic my 18 kids could get. One of the great things about playing with this age is that I can take games that I used to love playing as a child and teenager and then simplify them so they can understand. Having taught them Grandma's Footsteps last years, it remains a great hit, traffic lights and music statues completing the lesson meant that they, as well as me, were thoroughly exhausted by the end of the lesson.
On Saturday I travelled down to Mong Kok to buy a couple of goodies at the ladies market. This is a set of pedestrian only streets with towering stalls selling a variety of things that are often cheap but you can easily barter with the stallholders if they speak English. I was thankful it was a successful trip and it was a wonderfully relaxing day and I felt thoroughly rested.
After a glorious few hours in Mong Kok, I made my way to Wan Chai to get to oneighty, the student/young adult event that happens every Saturday at The Vine. It is a wonderfully relaxing time where I got to catch up with friends I had made over the last free months as well as meeting more new people which is something I enjoy doing thoroughly. Hong Kong is such a fast paced place, it is very nice to have a place that is so relaxed and gentle as well as still feeling like you are in the same place.
I received a wonderfully pleasant Facebook message from an old friend in London to say that he was going to be at church on Sunday morning and so I forced myself awake at early o'clock and got myself to church and it was lovely to catch up. I also discovered the delights of La Creperie, a crepe and galette cafe immediately opposite The Vine. With a couple of friends I had made at church, I treated myself to the incredibly tasty treats.
In the evening, it turned out that the boys in Melody Garden had a bowling alley just below them and so Ruth and I headed over there to meet Will, Becky, Ben and Mark who joined us later for a good hour of bowling. I had forgotten quite how much I had relied on the barriers in previous games and as we all opted not to use them, I think I held the record for the most amount of gutter balls over the nearly 2 games we played. Despite my two strikes in the second game, I lost spectacularly and I only narrowly beat Becky into fourth place for the first game. Perhaps my talents in that respect will only ever lie in Wii Bowling...
I am looking forward this week to hopefully being able to tie down my plans for Chinese New Year as flights get more expensive with every day and seeing what another week of school will bring in the way of surprises.
Until next time,
Batkinson xxx
Cantonese word of the week - pronounced: lido; translation: here
Overheard on the MTR: "please be aware of the difference in levels between the train and the platform." You Know they could have just said "please mind the gap"...
Quote of the week: "fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself." - Hermione Granger
Prayer points:
- for my CNY plans to finally come together as it has been a long and arduous process
- for the children to settle back into their normal routines as they are still a little restless after their holidays
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